Phillip Romano – Tile Series

Let’s get this out of the way now — you may have noticed that the artist I am speaking about in this post has the same last name as myself. This is because we are womb-mates.

My brother, Phillip Romano, is a young photographer finishing up an art degree at Harlem’s City College of New York. He is exhibiting work this week, called Tile Series, which I would be interested in talking about on Subway Art Blog even if we didn’t share genes.

In this work, subway tiles are the canvases and commuters are the artists. The drips, spills, scuffs and scrapes people make on the floors of subway stations become unintentional art. The photos seem to evoke Jackson Pollock’s action paintings, not only by appearance, but also their interest in the subconscious.

The way in which the images are displayed is worth noting as well. Phillip explains:

The tile series pieces each document single markings found on subway platforms. Each tile is photographed, printed, and mounted separately and then arranged in their original order on the wall.

You can find three pieces from this project at CCNY’s annual photography exhibition, open from May 3rd – May 14th, with an opening reception May 6th, 5-8pm. Details can be found on the event’s Facebook page. More of the tile series and other work by Phillip can be found on his portfolio site: Phillip Romano Photography.